bring them both peace
by omgerinlovesloganlerman
Summary: Annabeth's camp necklace is missing. Jason helps her find it, which leads to an impromptu history lesson on camp's most loved couple - and a new friendship.


Jason opened the door to the Athena cabin. There he found Annabeth frantically rummaging through drawers while muttering under her breath. He could see her knife strapped to her side and tried to think of a way to get her attention without being skewered. Eventually she turned around, probably to search the other side of the room, and jumped when she saw Jason in the doorway. He smiled sheepishly and apologized.

"No, no. That's fine. You just surprised me, that's all." She ran her hand through her hair and huffed audibly.

"Looking for anything in particular?"

"My camp necklace." Jason knew what she was talking about. In the past few weeks he'd seen most of the campers wearing a leather necklace with varying amounts of clay beads. "I took it off before I showered and I'm sure I left it on my nightstand, but it's not there now."

"I could help you look for it, if you like."

"Are you sure? We were supposed to train in the arena."

Jason laughed. "_Anything_ beats getting my butt kicked by a daughter of Athena with a knife."

Annabeth smiled and they left the cabin together. They decided to retrace her steps, starting at the dining pavilion. They searched the stables, the lava wall, and everywhere in between. Piper said she'd keep her eye out before going back to her archery lesson, taught by Will Solace. Jason found himself watching as Will helped her get her form correct. He still wasn't sure of his feelings for her. Sure, she was pretty and his best friend next to Leo, but he had no idea if he had a girlfriend at the Roman camp. He didn't want to lead Piper on if he had someone waiting for him back home.

"You like her, don't you?"

His eyes widened slightly at Annabeth's question. He wasn't that obvious, was he?

Sighing, he responded. "I don't know. This whole switch thing has got me so confused. She's got fake memories of us; I've got no memories of anything…"

"…And you don't know if you have a girl back at the Roman camp." Annabeth finished his thought.

"Exactly. Sometimes I wish the gods would give me a break and I could just be _normal_ for once."

"I know how that feels. I thought maybe after the Second Titan War that I'd finally get some peace, but I suppose the Fates aren't that generous."

Jason suddenly remembered that her boyfriend was the one he was replacing. He felt awful for bringing that up around her again.

"_Vae! Follis sum!_ I'm sorry, Annabeth. I didn't mean to – "

She shook her head and smiled sadly. "It's okay. Just, if I were you, I wouldn't jump into anything with Piper. Even if you can't remember her, there's probably someone worried sick about you. I know I would be."

_That makes sense_, Jason thought. He'd seen Annabeth when she thought no one was looking. She must have nightmares about Percy with another girl every night. If there was someone like Annabeth to his Percy, then he'd do his best not to hurt her. He'd wait until all his memories came back before taking any step with Piper.

Jason was so deep in thought that he didn't notice when Annabeth bent down to the ground. He toppled over her and ended up spread-eagle in the dirt. He could hear Annabeth laughing and pushed himself up. She was kneeling with a beaded necklace in her hand. All pain momentarily forgotten, Jason scooted closer and took a look at it.

"Is that it? Did you find it?"

"Yeah. I must have dropped it or something." She brushed the pieces of grass off the leather cord and pulled her hair to one side. "Will you tie it for me?"

Jason complied. "You've got more beads than anyone else I've seen. Why's that?" Jason asked as he knotted the cord at the nape of her neck.

Annabeth turned back toward him and crossed her legs Indian-style. "Every camper gets a bead for each year they're at camp. I've been here since I was seven years old, so I've got the most."

"Oh. Are all beads the same, then?"

"Yes. At the end of each summer, the senior counsellors vote on the most important event of the summer and it's painted on all of the beads."

"That's so cool." Jason looked down at his arm where there was a tattoo of the letters _SPQR_, an eagle, and twelve vertical lines, like a bar code. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he supposed it was sort of like the bead system here at Camp Half Blood. Just like the other times when he thought too hard about his past, his head began to throb. To distract himself, he questioned Annabeth about what some of her beads meant.

"Well, you see that one? That's from my first year at camp. That was when Thalia, your sister, got turned into the tree at the border." Jason had heard the full story of his sister and the tree from the other campers. The Stolls had warned him not to ask Annabeth too much about those times because it was when Luke – the dead guy – was a big part of her life. "The one with the trident is from Percy's first summer. He's a son of Poseidon and stopped a war between the gods, so we chose the trident."

Jason hadn't heard much about the camp's missing leader and he definitely hadn't heard _that_ detail. "Wait? This Percy kid stopped a _war between the gods_? Seriously?"

Annabeth looked a little miffed and Jason figured she took his doubt the wrong way. She answered before he could explain. "Yes, he did. Zeus' master bolt was missing and he thought Percy had stolen it. He had to find it and then return it before the summer solstice. Which, he accomplished."

"I didn't mean it like that. Just... no wonder everyone here looks up to him. What else has he done?" If he stopped an Olympian civil war at only twelve years old, imagine what he might have done since then!

"Um… The next summer when Thalia's tree was poisoned, he found the Golden Fleece which saved the camp's borders and ended up bringing Thalia out of the tree. That's this bead right here." She pointed to a golden blob hanging on a pine tree.

"That winter I was kidnapped by the Titan Atlas and Lu – and a manticore and forced to hold up the sky." She fingered a grey streak in her blond locks that matched her eyes. "He travelled across the country to save me."

"Woah. He must really care about you."

She shrugged. "I guess…"

Jason snorted. "Please. Piper tells me what the Aphrodite girls say about you two. He went on a quest to save you from a Titan and you're still not sure what you mean to him? Believe me, if _I_ can see it, it's something."

Annabeth blushed and quickly continued. "Since that was in the winter there's no bead. This one," She pointed to a very detailed maze. "Was from the summer of the Battle of the Labyrinth."

Jason was sure his jaw dropped. "You mean the actual Labyrinth from like 2000 years ago?"

"The very one." Annabeth smiled. "That was an eventful summer. We discovered an entrance to the Labyrinth, I led a quest to find Daedalus, and then there was a battle at the entrance here in camp."

"That's awesome. But doesn't the Labyrinth make people go insane? How'd you get out?"

"We had help from Rachel."

"You mean the Oracle Rachel?"

"Yes, but that was before she was the Oracle. She was a mortal who could see through the Mist. She was our guide."

"Oh. Then when did she become the Oracle?"

Annabeth's face darkened. There was a sudden sadness in her eyes. Jason wondered if he said the wrong thing. "After the Battle of Manhattan."

"I'm guessing that's the last bead." His eyes found a black bead with a mini Empire State Building. There were small golden squiggles all around. They sort of looked like names.

"It is. Kronos invaded the city. There was a huge battle."

"How'd the mortals not notice anything?"

"Morpheus, the god of dreams, put them all to sleep. And the gods were fighting Typhon, so we were on our own."

Jason was awestruck. Annabeth didn't have to say it; he knew Percy Jackson had defeated Kronos. If _that_ was who he was switched with, what had he done? He had to have been important at the Roman camp, possibly even their leader. He couldn't remember any heroic quests or battles. He pressed his fists into his eyes and struggled to recall something, anything. That was probably the worst part of it all: not remembering a thing. He hadn't even remembered his last name, for crying out loud! All he knew was information he had acquired since he woke up on the bus.

There was a hand on his shoulder. He pulled his hands away from his face and blinked until his vision went back to normal. Annabeth was smiling at him reassuringly and he appreciated it. Leo and Piper just didn't understand. _She_ did. She had been through things equal to what he had (even if he couldn't remember,) and it was her boyfriend missing. She just got it.

Jason rose and stuck out his hand to help her up. They stood there looking at each other for a moment before he pulled her into a hug. A surprised 'oh!' left her lips before she wrapped her arms around his torso and returned the favour. He let go after a few seconds and mumbled a thank you.

As he jogged towards the Zeus cabin, he mused on Annabeth. Everyone in camp avoided mentioning Percy for fear of sending her into a deep depression. Those who spent time with her spoke down to her and treated her like a ticking time bomb. Maybe what she really needed was someone who understood – just like he had. Maybe she needed to talk about Percy to keep herself together. All he knew was that she was stronger than anyone thought. And her loyalty and determination to find her boyfriend would bring them both peace.

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><p><strong>AN: **Okay so this totally came out of nowhere. I was working on another piece of writing when an idea hit me. That idea was Annabeth explaining her camp necklace to Jason and later, Piper. But as soon as I started typing, it got away from me. Piper didn't even make it in to hear the stories, and the more romantic part was traded in for a heart-to-heart type thing. If that makes sense.

Don't worry, this isn't Jason/Annabeth. It's more of a friendship fic, with underlying Percy/Annabeth and Jason/Piper. Speaking of them, I do ship it but I figured Annabeth would have a certain point of view on Jason's relationships because of her role in the switch. (Percy's Penelope.)

I'd love to hear you guy's thoughts on this so please please review. (:

Until next time.

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><p><strong>Disclaimer: <strong>I do not own Percy Jackson or the Heroes of Olympus. Those lovely creations belong to the one and only Rick Riordan.


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